The"Wolfsburg" Castle was first mentioned in 1302 in a document as the domicile of the noble lineage ofBartensleben. Originally a keep next to the Aller, it was protected by amoat some centuries later. In 1372, the first documentary reference to theBurg Neuhaus ("castle of Neuhaus") near Wolfsburg appeared. After the extinction of the Bartensleben line in 1742, the property and itsSchloss Wolfsburg (Wolfsburg castle) passed on to the Counts of Schulenburg. The communal manor was an important employer for the nearby settlementsRothenfelde andHeßlingen.
Some of today's urban districts, includingVorsfelde and the villages transferred to Wolfsburg from the county ofHelmstedt, belonged to thePrincipality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.Fallersleben and other villages belonged to the Electorate of Braunschweig-Lüneburg, which later developed into theKingdom of Hanover and became aPrussian province in 1866. Other urban districts, includingHeßlingen, belonged to the PrussianDuchy of Magdeburg. In 1932, these districts were detached from the PrussianProvince of Saxony and integrated into theProvince of Hanover.
Wolfsburg was founded on 1 July 1938 as theStadt des KdF-Wagens bei Fallersleben, ("City of theStrength Through Joy car atFallersleben), a planned town centred around the village of Fallersleben, built to house workers of theVolkswagen factories erected to assemble what would be later known as theVolkswagen Beetle.[4] During World War II, military cars, aeroplanes, and other military equipment were built there, mainly byforced workers andprisoners-of-war.[5][citation needed] In 1942, German authorities established theArbeitsdorf concentration camp in the city for a few months. At least six individuals died while working at this camp.
The city and Volkswagen factory were captured on 11 April 1945, by US troops, and about 7,700forced labourers were liberated from the Volkswagen factory. The US troops occupied the city until the end of June, during which time the city was renamedWolfsburg on 25 May 1945, after the eponymous castle located there. The American occupation ended at the end of June 1945 when the region became part of theBritish occupation zone. In 1951, Wolfsburg was separated from the District of Gifhorn, and became anurban district.
In 1955, the one-millionth VW Beetle was manufactured in Wolfsburg. Postwar Beetle production ended in Wolfsburg in 1974, though Beetle production continued within Germany atEmden until 1978. The factories in Wolfsburg remain a key part of Volkswagen's production capacity.
During theGerman economic miracle Wolfsburg experienced a large influx of immigrant workers, especially from Italy.
In 1958, the city hall was built. In 1960 the VolkswagenwerkGmbH (limited partnership with a limited liability) was changed into anAG (public limited company).
In the course of a land reform in Lower Saxony in 1972, 20 localities were added to the city through the "Wolfsburg-Act". Wolfsburg gained the status of major city with nearly 131,000 inhabitants. The city's area grew from 35 to nearly 204 km2 (79 sq mi). In 1973, the city's population peaked at 131,971.
In 1982, the A39, a side road of theA2 (Oberhausen - Hannover - Werder), was built as a direct freeway to Wolfsburg.
In 1988, the city became a university town with the establishment of the University of Applied Science Braunschweig/Wolfenbüttel. Today its name isOstfalia University of Applied Sciences.
As a launch promotion for the5th generation of theVolkswagen Golf the city of Wolfsburg welcomed visitors on the internet, on the official stationery, and on every city limit sign with the name "Golfsburg" from 25 August to 10 October 2003. This campaign gained the nationwide attention of press, radio, and TV broadcasting.
In the summer of 2009, Wolfsburg gained nationwide attention when their football team,VfL Wolfsburg, won the German football league.[6][7] A party was held in the city centre with about 100,000 people, the first in the history of the city.
The total annual precipitation is about 532 millimetres (21 in) which is quite low as it belongs to the lowest tenth of the measured data in Germany. Only 7% of all observation stations of theDeutscher Wetterdienst (German weather service) record lower measurements. The warmest month is July and the driest month is April, while the wettest are July and August.
Wolfsburg CastleTheAutostadtThe illuminated Volkswagen power plant at night
The centre of Wolfsburg is unique in Germany. Instead of a medieval city centre, Wolfsburg features a new and modern attraction called theAutostadt. The old part of the cityAlt Wolfsburg(de) shows some manor buildings in traditional framework style. Atop a hill by theRiver Aller is theWolfsburg Castle.
The Autostadt is an open-air museum-theme park dedicated toautomobiles owned and operated by Volkswagen. In the center of the park are the pavilions featuring Volkswagen's major brands: Volkswagen and Audi to the north, further south are SEAT,Škoda Auto, Lamborghini, Bentley,Bugatti, and the Premium Clubhouse. Right next to the lagoon is thePorsche pavilion. The striking Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles pavilion is in the south-east of the park.The Autostadt also includes aplanetarium, aRitz-Carlton hotel, thePhaeno Science Center, the largest hands-on science museum in Germany, a water skiing resort, and a private art museum (Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg) specialising in modern and contemporary art.
Another major attraction is the Wolfsburg Water Show, the world's largest water-flame-laser-video fountain show with its up to 70-meter high fountains which was in the Autostadt complex in 2014. The event sometimes can be seen when there are special events in the complex.[11]
Besides the Autostadt, another well-known and distinctive attraction is BadeLand, a beautiful wellness and relaxation centre with a bathing area and various saunas.[12][13]
The city is served byBraunschweig Wolfsburg Airport. However, the airport does not operated scheduled public passenger or cargo services. The nearest passenger airport isHannover Airport, which is located 90 km (56 mi) north west of Wolfsburg.
From about 1,000 inhabitants in 1938, the population of the city increased to 25,000 in 1950 and doubled to 50,000 until 1958. On 1 July 1972, the population of Wolfsburg first went beyond the mark of 100,000 because several adjacent suburbanized villages were incorporated into the city with the "Wolfsburg law" which made Wolfsburg a major city ("Großstadt"). In 1973, the population reached its highest level: 131,971. At the end of December 2010, 121,451 people were registered with their principal residence in Wolfsburg.
The three cities form aOberzentren and a sub-metropolitan area. The area is primarily dependent on theSteel,Automotive andR&D industries. The population of the area is a over 1 million (1,014,477) as of 2023. The three main cities have a total population of 512,600, where over half the population lives. The area has 40.6% of the population with a migration background and is aiming to progressively increase the foreign population in the upcoming years. The area contributes highly to the economy of the country especially due to Volkswagen, Siemens, Salzgitter AG and other companies. The area has one of the highest GDP per Capita in the whole of Europe with Wolfsburg having the highest in the whole country and Braunschweig having one of the highest. Though the area faced debt, mass amounts of destruction, and a population decline afterWorld War 2, the area strived back due to high demand of car manufacturing and need for research and development.[14]
TheUrban Agglomeration of Wolfsburg has 217,433 people with an area of 775 km2 and has a high proportion of people from other countries. Majority of the population in the agglomeration live in the City and in the townGifhorn.
Wolfsburg is cosmopolitan and recognized as a highly diverse city with people from over 150 nations residing there. By the end of 2012, this number had climbed to 123,144 and by 2030 the population is projected to be around 135,000 with around 50% of the population having a foreign background. 44.0% of Wolfsburg had a migration background in the year 2024 making it the second highest percentage of people with a foreign background inLower Saxony afterSalzgitter.
The city of Wolfsburg is organized into 41 districts. One or more districts make up one of the total of 16 localities which are represented by their own councils. Every council has a local official as its mayor.
First the councils were only established in the 11 localities annexed in 1972. They partly took over the functions of the former city councils of each of the districts. In 1991 and 2001 some of the localities were split into smaller areas so that today there are 16 localities, each with its own council which are directly elected by the citizens.
The only exception from this organization is theAllerpark (Aller Park), a local recreation area surrounding theAllersee lake, and the area of the Volkswagen factory which are both located in the central city area.
The administrative area of Wolfsburg includes sixnature reserves. Five of them are located in the ancient Aller river valley.
The first mayor of the young Stadt des KdF-Wagens was the government assessor Karl Bock, on enactment #145 of the chief president of the government ofLüneburg effective from 1 July 1938. His allies were also deployed by the government.
In 1946, the military government of the British zone of occupation established a communal constitution following the British example. After this, citizens voted for a council that elected a volunteer mayor/lord mayor as the city's leader and representative. After 1946, the council elected a full-time director to lead the city council. In 2001, the city council's dual leadership was abolished. It is led by a full-time lord mayor who is also the city's representative. Since 2001, citizens directly elect the lord mayor. The council still has its own chairperson elected by the council's constitutive conference after every local election. The current Bürgermeister (mayor) of Wolfsburg is Dennis Weilmann.
The city has been described as a "social democratic utopia".[18]
The city council is made up of the fractions of the different parties (47 seats) and the lord mayor with one seat. The lord mayor is head of administration, thus the superior of all employees of the city council. The lord mayor is supported by four departmental heads who are voted in by the council on his suggestion. Together, they make up the board of directors of the city administration where the most important decisions concerning administration are deliberated weekly.
Results of the local elections on 11 September 2011:[19]
Wolfsburg's emblem shows a silver two-tower castle with a closed gate on red ground over a green base with silver waved timbers. A golden wolf with a blue tongue paces over the castle's battlement. The city's flag is green and white.
Lower Saxony's Department of the Interior awarded the city of Wolfsburg's emblem in 1952 after it had been constituted in the association articles in 1947. In 1961, it was improved heraldically and newly awarded by the governmental executive committee of Lüneburg. The symbols of the wolf and the castle reflect the city's name (canting arm) and do not have a historical, directly conveyed reference. The flag was adopted in 1955.
Volkswagen used a modified version of the Wolfsburg coat of arms as its steering wheel emblem, (and occasionally as a hood ornament, on classic Beetles) until the early 1980s, when it was replaced by the VW roundel.
The city of Wolfsburg is a member of the associationBraunschweigische Landschaft e.V, with a registered office in Braunschweig and in theLüneburgischen Landschaftsverband e.V, with a registered office inUelzen. These associations were founded to foster cultural establishments in the regions.[citation needed]
TheSchloss Wolfsburg (castle of Wolfsburg), a Weser renaissance castle of the 13th century, was first documented as the domicile of the noble lineage of Bartensleben in 1302. As the city is named after this castle, it is Wolfsburg's landmark.
TheBurg Neuhaus (castle of Neuhaus) is a medieval moat from the 14th century which has been owned by the city government since 1981.
TheSchloss Fallersleben (castle of Fallersleben) was completed in 1551. Since 1991 it has housed the Hoffmann-von-Fallersleben-Museum.
TheKunstmuseum Wolfsburg (Art museum Wolfsburg) is internationally renowned and has shown contemporary and modern international art since 1994.
TheStädtische Galerie (Municipal Gallery), located in the Schloss Wolfsburg, shows multifarious pieces of contemporary art.
TheAutoMuseum Volkswagen was opened in an old textile factory in Heßlingen in 1985.
TheStadtmuseum Wolfsburg(City Museum) is a modern museum with an exhibition about the history of the castle, the region and the city. It is located inside the castle of Wolfsburg.
TheHoffmann-von-Fallersleben-Museum in the castle ofFallersleben shows the history of German poetry and democracy, especially focused on the life of Hoffmann von Fallersleben between 1798 and 1874.
TheHeinrich-Büssing-Haus inNordsteimke was opened on the initiative of the MAN-group in the house of Büssing's birth in 1988. It shows the life of Büssing and the development from craft to industry.
TheBurg Neuhaus (castle of Neuhaus) is a moat showing an exhibition of models of the castle and the water mill, late medieval weapons and documents concerning the life of people of the time before 1800.
TheAutostadt is, after Disneyland Paris, the most visited theme park in Europe.[citation needed] The theme is (auto) mobility.
The Phæno is a science center with 250 experiment stations on an exhibition space of nearly 6,000 square meters. The unique architecture was designed byZaha Hadid.
TheRomantikpark Landleben (theme park Romantik Park Landleben) in Kästorf shows a historical Lower Saxon village combined with parks and restaurants.
The most famous professional sports club in the city isVfL Wolfsburg, established in 1945. The men's football team won theBundesliga in 2009, theDFB-Pokal in 2015 and theDFL-Supercup in 2015. Thewomen's football team has been even more successful, winning six Bundesliga titles and sevenDFB-Pokal titles. The women's team has also succeeded in winning theUEFA Women's Champions League in two consecutive years, 2013 and 2014.
Wolfsburg is also the home of the ice hockey teamGrizzlys Wolfsburg, which since 2007 has made it to a leading position in the first-tierDeutsche Eishockey Liga, where it was runner-up in 2011, 2016 and 2017.
Also based in city is the tennis tournamentVolkswagen Challenger, which has been held annually in Wolfsburg since 1993.
